Dry shaver having parallel inclined shearheads



1957 w. KOBLER ETAL 2,801,466

DRY SHAVER HAVING PARALLEL INCLINED SHEARHEADS Filed July 7, 1952 INVENTOR Wrzer [@Zhr W020 152M6 BY Jaw 1441M ORNEYS United States Patent "ice DRY SHAVER HAVING MRALBEL mcLiNnn 'SHEARHEAD'S The present invention relates to a dry shaving apparatus comprising a housing on which are mounted a pair of elongated parallel, inclined shearheads and more particularly to an apparatus of the said kind in which the said shearheads comprise inner cutting members which are movably guided in longitudinal direction within transversely slotted outer cutting members, said inner cutting members being actuated and preferably reciprocated in said shearheads by suitable driving means.

It has been found that in such dry shaving apparatus the angle at which the hairs to be shaved ofi are introduced into the slots of the outer cutting members matters considerably in seizing and raising these hairs. For shaving mostparts of the users face, it has proved to be of advantage that the hairs do not enter the slots at right angles but obliquely.

For this reason, shearheads have been suggested which are provided with obliquely arranged slots. Practice has shown, however, that it is preferable to have the slots at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the shearhead and to carry the apparatus obliquely that is, edgewise, over the skin for causing the hairs to enter the slots obliquely as desired, because the skin is then also tensioned by the shearhead in an oblique direction with respect to the direction of advance of the shaving apparatus, the said tension causing the hairs to stand out at light angles to the skin.

Due to the moving of the apparatus to and fro along the skin, this diagonal tension constantly changes its direction, which in turn constantly changes the setting of the hairs and increases the chances of their being seized and cut.

In any conventional shaving apparatus, the shearhead is mounted on a housing having a pair of substantially parallel and comparatively fiat. gripping surfaces, and it extends in a direction parallel to the said gripping surfaces. As it is natural for the user to move the apparatus either in a direction substantially perpendicular or in a direction parallel to the said gripping surfaces by movements originating in his elbow or upper arm, a certain amounts of attention is required to carry the shearhead edgewise or obliquely over the skin as would be desirable.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of the shaving apparatus whereby the oblique or edgewise carrying of the shear-head over the skin will be eased and rendered substantially automatic to a user who tends to move the apparatus in the said natural way with respect to the gripping surfaces of the housing.

In a shaving operation performed with a dry shaver having shearheads of the type herein contemplated, one of the principal difliculties is to lead hairs which happen to lie transversely of the direction of movement of the shaver into the slots of the shearhead. According to the present invention this difiiculty is overcome by arranging two shearheads in parallel relation with respect to each other but at a low angle relative to the direction per- 2,801,466 e ed A 6, 1951 pendicular to the direction of normal movement. By this arrangement when the shaver is moved in one direction perpendicular to the front and rear flat faces of the handle the shearheads will approach the hairs at an angle and will tend to raise the hairs lying in one transverse direction by exerting rapidly repeated raising efforts by the leading and following shearheads. Likewise when moved in the opposite direction the repeated raising eiforts will be exerted on hairs lying in the opposite transverse direction.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description, now to follow, of a preferred embodiment thereof and in which reference will be had to the accompanying drawing. In this drawing,

Figure l is a perspective view of a shaving apparatus having two shearheads mounted on a casing at an angle to the side walls of the casing.

Figure 2 is an end view of the shaving apparatus of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawing the dry shaving apparatus according to the invention comprises an elongated housing or handle 2 on an end surface 2a of which are mounted two parallel elongated shearheads 1a and 1b, each comprising an outer cutting member 3a in which inner cutting members are reciprocably guided. The inner cutting members are reciprocated within the outer cutting members 311, by means of an electric motor and a suitable intermediate mechanism lodged within the housing 1, this motor and mechanism forming no part of the invention and being therefore not shown in the drawing. The elongated housing or handle 2 is of substantially rectangular, that is, oblong cross-section and has a pair of flat gripping surfaces 6 parallel to each other which define a direction A in which the apparatus is moved in shaving as a result of the natural movements of the users arm. The outer cutting member 3a of the shearhead is preferably of arcuate longitudinal profile and is provided with numerous slots 5 approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of extent of the shearheads for engagement of the hairs to be cut, and the shearheads are mounted on the end surface 2a of the housing'2 in such a position that their longitudinal dimension or axes a are at a low oblique angle with respect to the gripping surfaces 6 of the handle and therefore also at an angle to the natural direction of displacement v A of the apparatus in use.

By this arrangement when the shaver is moved in one direction, say upwardly in Fig. l, hairs which happen to lie close to the skin and to the right transversely of the direction of movement will be engaged at an angle such that the leading edges of the advancing shearheads will tend to pry under the free ends of such hairs and raise them up as the movement continues so that their entry into the cutting slots is facilitated. In case some hairs are not fully raised by the leading shearhead the following shearhead repeats a similar effort to raise such hairs. When moved in the opposite direction hairs lying close to the skin to the left transversely of the direction of movement will be subjected to similar repeated raising elforts.

What we claim is:

A dry shaving apparatus comprising a handle which is oblong in transverse cross section and is provided with elongated side walls parallel to the long axis of said oblong cross section and substantially parallel to each other, said handle having an end surface serving as a base for a pair of shearheads mounted thereon, said end surface extending substantially perpendicularly to said side walls of said handle and having one dimension longer than the other, said shearheads being elongated and parallel to each other and having reciprocable inner and a stationary outer cutter members, said outer cutter members being pro vided with slots extending approximately perpendicularly to the long axes of said cutter members, said side walls of said handle serving as gripping surfaces for the hand of theuser, and said shearheads having their long axes inclinedat a low angle relative to the long axis of said cross section of said handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Schmitt June 15, 1937 Florman Nov. 23, 1937 Steinbach Nov. 4, 1941 Rand et al. May 12, 1942 Zimmermann June 23, 1942 Alexay Jan. 26, 1943 Martin Oct. 5, 1943 Olving June 6, 1944 Kobler et a1. July 10, 1951 Kobler et a1. Sept. 23, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Belgium Jan. 31, 1951 

